Metro Manila, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte asked lawmakers to look into the spending of the Office of the President as well if they want to “legislate about confidential funds” amid the investigation on her secret fund use.
In an interview with the media, Duterte again said the House inquiry on her budget spending is a “political attack” against her.
“You do not target one office and terrorize and torment the employees of that office…Why not call (out) the Office of the President who has billions and billions of confidential funds?” she said.
“They’re singling out the Office of the Vice President…It’s very disrespectful to the Office of the Vice President. That is also why when they asked that I respect their process, respect begets respect. So if they want respect, they should first respect the Office of the Vice President,” Duterte added.
The Commission on Audit earlier said the Office of the President has spent over P4.5 billion in confidential and intelligence funds in 2023, making it the biggest secret fund spender for the year.
‘I will not explain’
The vice president, meanwhile, refused to detail her confidential fund spending, saying this might compromise those involved in intelligence operations.
The House committee on good government and public accountability earlier revealed over 400 signatories of her confidential funds had no records with the Philippine Statistics Authority.
“I will not explain. I will not give an explanation because it will entail that I explain intelligence operations…So no explanation will be given to the members of the House of the Representatives,” she said.
The vice president, however, later said she had no involvement in the preparation of acknowledgement receipts.
“It went down to the grassroots levels…I was up here in the structure and money went down for information,” Duterte said.
